The calculation of a distribution of a quantity over a number of receiver objects is a common data processing task. For example, in a manufacturing environment, certain manufacturing resources need to be distributed to manufacturing receiver objects. In a chemical production plant, a certain chemical substance, i.e., the quantity to be distributed, needs to be distributed over a number of chemical reactors. The distribution of the chemical substance over the chemical reactors can depend on certain parameters, such as the actual operational states and environmental conditions of the chemical reactors. Other examples where manufacturing resources need to be distributed include the distribution of energy, gas, electricity, and/or heat to receiver objects that require these resources.
The calculation of distributions is also a common task in financial data processing systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. In such systems, the quantity to be distributed is typically a cost value. For example, the cost for operating a company's cafeteria may need to be distributed over the cost centers of the company in accordance with a certain distribution scheme.
Likewise, production costs need to be distributed over the final products. These and other common distribution calculations may be performed by special application programs, such as manufacturing control programs, financial data processing programs or other application programs.